Break-in at Garda headquarters

Gardaí are investigating a break-in at a building which houses the office of Assistant Commissioner Al McHugh, the officer in charge of the Dublin metropolitan region.

The alarm was raised when an attempted arson attack at the city centre offices triggered smoke detectors. Items from a Garda uniform were stolen in the break-in on Harcourt Street. However, informed sources said whoever was behind the incident did not gain access to Mr McHugh's office.

Mr McHugh's office is located in a building on Harcourt Street beside the Harcourt Square Dublin metropolitan region Garda headquarters complex. That campus houses a number of specialist units including the Criminal Assets Bureau and Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation and is guarded on a 24-hour basis. When the fire alarm was triggered in the nearby house at about 12.30am yesterday, a number of gardaí on duty at the Harcourt Square complex went to investigate.

They realised the property had been broken into and extinguished a number of plastic toilet roll dispensers that had been set alight during the break-in.

An examination of the property revealed items from a uniform owned by one member based in the offices had been taken.

Gardaí were last night studying CCTV footage filmed in the Harcourt Street area in an effort to determine if the identity of the intruder can be established.

The Irish Times understands nothing of a confidential nature was accessed or stolen by the intruder. The building was sealed off early yesterday morning.